GST officers assaulted, kidnapped during raid at scrap shop in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A scrap trader and his associates who had allegedly assaulted GST Officers, kidnapped them and demanded ransom from them at Saroor Nagar, when the latter had come to raid on the scap unit running on fake GST registration, were arrested by Saroor Nagar police of Rachakonda Commissionerate on Wednesday.

The accused are identified as Syed Feroz, owner of a Grade I Iron store, his business associates Syed Mujeeb, Shaik Imtiyaz and Syed Musheer, all belonging to Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and running their store at Saroor Nagar. DCP LB Nagar B Sai Sri said the kidnapped officers immediately alerted their superiors, who alerted them and they were rescued in a very short time. Mujeeb is learnt to be associated with a political party in Andhra Pradesh.

According to police, acting on a tip off that some units are running on fake GST registrations, two officers from the Intelligence wing of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) were conducting raids on the scrap store at Kranti Nagar owned by the accused Mujeeb.

They first displayed their id cards. The accused and his associates picked up an argument with the officers, snatched their id cards and damaged them. Later, they assaulted the officers and forced them into a Toyota Fortuner belonging to Imtiyaz and drove away from the spot.

Shocked by this sudden move, the officers immediately informed their superiors, who alerted the Rachakonda police. Immediately, police dispatched teams and also set up naka bandi in the roads surrounding Kranti Nagar. They have also alerted Hyderabad and Cyberabad police to look out for the suspects.

Further, based on the CCTV footage near the spot, police identified the Fortuner and intercepted it at the naka near Dilsukhnagar around 4 kms from Kranti Nagar.

DCP Sai Sri said another accused Khayyoom is absconding and teams are on the job to nab him. The arrested accused are sent to judicial remand.